Acer palmatum &#34;Crimson Prince&#34;

ABSTRACT

A seedling of the variety Acer palmatum &#34;Bloodgood&#34; (an unpatented variety) noticeable for its vigorous growth, deeper red color in the summer, greater height of growth as compared with other &#34;Bloodgood&#34; seedlings of the same age, cold hardiness and non-susceptibility to tip die-back of the summer growth, from cold winters.

This invention relates to a new variety of Acer palmatum tree discoveredas a seedling in a block of red foliaged Acer palmatum Bloodgood treesand noticeable for its deeper red color of summer growth.

In the course of growing and breeding decorative trees in a programcarried on by me in a nursery near Princeton, N.J., I have been carefulto watch for and select seedlings in large blocks of trees which areclearly different from and have better characteristics than the othertrees in the block.

Thus the instant variety was selected for its characteristics which makeit outstanding from the trees in the same variety which in this instanceis an Acer palmatum known as the variety "Bloodgood" (an unpatentedvariety).

Particularly noticeable when first observed was the deeper red color inthe summer months, which led to the selection of the commercialdesignation "Crimson Prince" for the tree of my new variety.

My new variety is twice as vigorous and rapid a grower as Acer palmatum`Atropurpureum` grown under identical conditions in adjacent rows andblocks. My new variety is noticeably more cold hardy then`Atropurpureum` and does not exhibit twig die back during cold winters.

I have determined that the branching habit of the plant is upright withnarrow crotches (at approximately 15 degree angles to the trunk) inyoung trees. As the plant matures the terminal portions of the branchesspread to give a broad outline with the tips or small twigs of lowerbranches becoming moderately pedulous. The mature tree is denselybranched.

I note that in considering the flowers we find they are inconspicuousand reddish purple in color, borne in clusters of 8 to 12 flowers percorymb. They are perfect and 0.8 cm (8 mm) across.

As for the seeds, they are paired winged samaras, each samara beingabout 2.5 cm. long. The pedicle is about 1.4 cm. long and the totallength of the corymb is about 10 to 11 cm.

The samara wings are Deep Purplish Red -- 10 RP3/10 in the late springand summer, later turning medium brown before falling. The seeds andsamaras ripen and fall in a normal year about October 10 to 15.

While it might be helpful to compare my new variety with Acer palmaturm`superbum` leaves, I do not have any of the same available forcomparison and can only present the leaf color previously described. Itis my belief that `superbum` only exists in a few European Arboreta andis not currently grown in the nursery trade.

Continued asexual reproduction by me of the variety by grafting on Acerpalmatum seedlings, has shown that the deeper red color persists andother distinctions such as stronger growth, taller and broader by onethird, than "Bloodgood" grafts of the same age, as well as greater coldhardiness, all continued from generation to generation and are fixedvaluable distinctions.

In addition it has been observed that considerably less tip die-back ofprevious summer growth, results with my new variety, all the foregoingcharacteristics being valuable for obvious commercial reasons.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

In the accompanying drawing, in FIG. 1 there is shown a typical tree ofmy new variety which illustrates the previously describedcharacteristics and particularly discloses the color as nearly as can bedone by an illustration of this kind, the color references where used inthe following detailed description being compared with the Munsell ColorFan supplied by Munsell Color Company of Baltimore, Md., the disclosurebeing as accurate as possible to supply by photographic processes used.In FIG. 2 there is disclosed in outline leaves on a stem to show theconfigurations of the same along with the stem shape and inapproximately full size black and white, understanding that this ispurely and simply intended to be a diagrammatic disclosure.

Common color designations where used are applicable, and have theordinary significance which may apply in a description of a tree of thiskind as used herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Parentage:

Seed parent.--Acer palmatum "Bloodgood" (unpatented).

Pollen parent.--Acer palmatum atropurpureum.

Tree: Small; spreading; dense; hardy.

Trunk.--Stocky; smooth.

Branches.--Slender; smooth. Color -- Very dark red 2.5R 2/2.

Lenticels.--Sparse; minute. Number -- 4 to 6 cm of stem.

Bark.--Older branches -- smooth; medium grey color. Young trees --smooth; dark red 2.5R3/7.

Leaves.--Quantity -- Abundant. Length -- 13 to 14 cm. Width -- 12 to 14cm. Shape -- Palmate; deeply incised; doubly serrate; 5 to 7 lobed; subcordate at base. Summer color -- upper surface: Dark red 2.5R 3/7. Undersurface: dark greenish red. Fall color -- Strong red 5R 4/12. Margin --Doubly serrate. Petiole -- Medium; 3 to 4 cm. long. Glands -- None.

Flower buds.--Not significant. Inconspicious -- same in dormant state aswhen they produce leafy shoots.

Flowers.--Not significant. Borne in small, smooth stemmed clusters --purple -- 6.5 mm across.

Petalage.--Not significant.

Samara.--Not significant. 3 to 5 flowers per cluster; anthers smooth --not pubescent.

Fruits.--Winged samaras, 2 cm long, borne in opposite pairs, notdiscernably different in a dormant state from buds which will produceleafy shoots.

I claim:
 1. An Acer palmatum tree substantially as herein shown anddescribed, characterized particularly as to novelty by its deeper redsummer color, stronger growth, growing one third taller and broader thansister "Bloodgood" grafts of the same age, greater cold hardiness thanother purple leafed Acer palmatum clones and resistance to injury bycold winters as compared with other clones than suffer from considerabletip die-back of a previous summer's growth.